The second half of the 2014 year was a busy one for the town of Caribou. The following is a list of some of the highlights from July through December.
July
• President and CEO of Loring Development Authority Carl Flora, along with a delegation led by Gov. Paul LePage, visited officials with Norinco Motors Co. at their headquarters in Beijing. The delegation traveled to China to discuss future business prospects that Norinco hopes to pursue at the former Loring Air Force Base, mainly a rail car manufacturing operation.
• Hometown hero and Maine Olympian Russell Currier was celebrated on Independence Day in Stockholm. The biathlete came back from Sochi, Russia and the 2014 Winter Olympics and found himself fully embraced by his hometown fans during the town’s Fourth of July festivities.
• Limestone held their annual Fourth of July parade, filled with street dancing and fireworks that make the parade a one-of-a-kind experience. The festivities included everything from a pancake breakfast to pedal tractor pulls, and kept the town’s streets busy from 7 a.m. until the streets closed down at midnight.
• The Holy Rosary Church Catholic Youth Organization held their 50-year anniversary on July 4 and 5 in Caribou. CYO members from all over returned to Caribou for the reunion that began at the Caribou Inn and Convention Center for an afternoon of reminiscing, and gathered for a Saturday morning Mass before concluding the celebration.
• At a July 14 City Council meeting, a group of concerned Caribou citizens formally announced their intentions to lead rural Caribou in an attempt to lower tax levels by seceding from the city to form a new municipality. The 20-person group or “Secession Committee” began circulating a petition on July 15. The new municipality would be named Lyndon.
• Spud Speedway held their 50th anniversary Motorsports Fair at the Caribou race track.
• The Loring Timing Association held their annual land speed races at the former Loring Air Force Base in Limestone. The LTA-sanctioned land speed trial event took place on the 2 5/8 mile long LTA race track, which is currently the longest asphalt LSR surface available in the world.
August
• RSU 39 Superintendent Frank McElwain announced that he would be retiring from his superintendent position after spending the majority of his career in the education field. The rest of his time was spent on his Caribou farm, which is where he plans to spend the bulk of his retirement.
• The doors of the Superintendent’s Building on Sincock Street were officially closed at the beginning of August. The RSU 39’s administrative offices were moved to a space at the Learning Center on Bennett Drive.
• The Caribou Cares About Kids Tie-Dye Extravaganza was held on Aug. 8 at the Caribou Wellness Center.
• Former Caribou Recreation Department Superintendent Kathy Mazzuchelli retired from the rec department after nearly 40 years of dedicated service to the community and the rec center. Nearly 35 of her 40 years were spent as the superintendent of the department.
• Former reference librarian at Presque Isle’s Turner Memorial Library, Lisa Neal Shaw, was hired as the new director at the Caribou Public Library.
September
• The New Sweden Consolidated School finished a six-month project to build a brand new playground play set at the New Sweden school. Fund-raising efforts for the equipment began at the end of 2013, but for the New Sweden students, the play set was well worth the wait.
• Loring Development Authority’s very first employee, Mary Saunders, announced that she would be retiring from her position as caretaker at LDA. Saunders’ career spanned the entire 20-plus years that the LDA has been in existence.
• The Maine School of Science and Mathematics opened their second dormitory for the Limestone school. A bump up in the school’s 2014 enrollment established the need for a second full-sized dorm, which the school has dubbed as Rising Hill.
• Limestone resident Marilyn King announced that she would be resigning from her role as a board member on the town’s board of selectpeople. King explained that she made the decision to step down before the end of her three-year term due to family and personal issues demanding more of her time.
• National POW/MIA Recognition Day was held on Sept. 19 at the Northern Maine Veterans Cemetery in Caribou. POW/MIA Recognition Day is observed across the nation every year on the third Friday of September.
October
• Cary Medical Center hosted their 90th anniversary celebration at the Caribou Inn and Convention Center. The night included a number of special awards and recognitions including the presentation of a special framed picture of the former Jefferson Memorial Hospital to the Donald Collins family, which was presented to Patricia, Donald and Sam Collins.
• The town held Caribou Heritage Day to celebrate the city’s history and educate people on how exactly the city became known as Caribou.
• Sen. Susan Collins made a stop at S.W. Collins Co. in Caribou as part of her campaign schedule. Sen. Collins traveled to her hometown of Caribou on her large red, white and blue campaign bus, and greeted her friends, family and fellow community members with a handshake and a smile.
• The city of Caribou proposed a municipal budget of just over $9 million.
• Luke Shorty of Limestone Mason’s Lodge No. 214 was honored for completing the extensive requirements for the Maine Master Mason Rookie Award.
• The Maine Potato Board announced that Robert Irving of Caribou was selected as the 2014 Young Farmer of the Year.
November
• The Maine School of Science and Mathematics held their annual open house on Nov. 9 and 10 to welcome a number of prospective students for the upcoming 2015 school year.
• Eastern Aroostook RSU 39 and their Awe-tism Connections Team, along with the Caribou, Limestone and Stockholm special education departments, hosted their first-ever Autism Safety Education Training (ASET) at the Caribou Inn and Convention Center on Nov. 17. The special guest speaker for the training was Matt Brown, who has more than 25 years of experience in law enforcement and is the father of an autistic child.
• The Caribou High School’s Class of 2017 hosted their second annual “So You Think You’ve Got Talent” showcase at the Caribou Performing Arts Center. The talent show raised over $1,600 for the class.
• A former Caribou resident, Lucas Butler, was named as the new town manager of Monson.
• Limestone Town Manager Donna Bernier announced that she will be retiring at the end of the 2014 year.
• The town of Limestone held their annual light parade on Nov. 29 with the theme being “Christmas Movies.” Over a dozen floats were created with the Christmas movie theme in mind.
December
• The Wreaths Across America Ceremony was held at the Northern Maine Veteran’s Cemetery in Caribou on Dec. 13. Veterans and community members gathered at the cemetery to pay their respects to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country.
• New Sweden Consolidated School held their annual St. Lucia Festival on Dec. 19, along with a Christmas chorus concert that was put on by all grades.
• Katherine Marie Wilcox-Bossie was named Caribou Public Library’s new youth librarian.
• The Caribou Choral Society hosted their 38th annual Christmas concert “When Christmas Comes to Town” at the Holy Rosary Church in Caribou on Dec. 13. The group also performed their concert in Presque and Madawaska earlier in the month.
• The Caribou Historical Society celebrated their 40th anniversary, while also being presented with a Legislative Sentiment from the 126th State of Maine Legislature.
• The Heart of Christmas Benefit Concert was held at the Caribou Performing Arts Center on Dec. 18. The Christmas concert was coordinated by Stephanie Plourde, and raised over $5,000 for Homeless Services of Aroostook.
